DAVAO CITY – The SOS (Save our Schools), a network of child rights and human rights organizations, appealed Saturday to Pope Francis to hear and give attention to poverty and human rights issues in the Philippines where the Pontiff is currently visiting.
It also reported that government troops have allegedly occupied schools in Davao del Norte province and that classes of Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Incorporated Academy were recently disrupted as teachers were forbidden to go back to the villages of Gupitan in Kapalong town by government militia group called Alamara.
Alamara is a paramilitary tribal group formed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and employed as members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit.
“It is appalling that President Aquino’s address while the Pope is in Malacañang did not even mention about how Filipino families are plunged into deeper poverty and how their rights and dignity as people are violated and disregarded. In fact, what we have seen was Aquino’s blame game,” Madella Santiago, spokesperson of SOS network and chairperson of Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Santiago said Pope Francis has high regard for human dignity and rights, but not the Aquino government. She said the continuing human rights violations such as attacks on schools of Lumad communities in Mindanao still continue.
She said in August last year, a mercy mission led by human rights group Karapatan Southern Mindanao was derailed due to Alamara’s threat to harm anyone who tries to provide humanitarian assistance and document cases of human rights violations in Kapalong area.
“Violation of children’s and teacher’s human rights are persisting in Kapalong. The Alamara and the AFP didn’t care whether their acts are causing disturbance to the right to development of more than 200 Manobo children or causing much fear and anxiety to children and their teachers while President Aquino seems to keep mum on the issue,” she said.
Santiago has appealed to the Pontiff to help them in exposing the evils of human rights violations.
“We are asking the pope to stand with us and fight with us. We are appealing to Pope Francis to help us end the reigning culture of impunity perpetuated by the Aquino administration. We are asking him to fight for the right to education and dignity of children of indigenous peoples and other oppressed and exploited Filipino people,” she said.
There was no immediate statement from the military about the accusations, but security officials are expected to deny all allegations against them by SOS. (Mindanao Examiner)
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